Malcolm X faced the kind of racial determinism that many students of color have become accustomed to today. Proponents of high stakes testing resurrect such determinism, presumably without the racial overtones, by reducing students, their hopes and dreams for the future, to test scores.

The publication of Time magazine's cover attacking teacher tenure also marked the one-year anniversary of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's infamous attack on New Jersey middle school teacher Melissa Tomlinson.

There is no question of the cancerous effects of groups like PennCAN and the Commonwealth Foundation. It may be years before we know the full range of the damage they have inflicted on our children and schools or how long it will take to repair that damage. One thing, however, is clear: Philadelphia teachers and students deserve our interest and support.

It is perhaps not surprising, in an election season when so many of those who attempted to impose these changes stand to lose their jobs that Duncan and others would feign a change of heart. If you listen carefully, it is not really a change at all.

Art and music convey important skills that often are overlooked. Researchers have long touted their positive effects on student brain growth and development, but the exercise of those skills in artistic pursuits like band and chorus adds a whole new dimension of teamwork, perseverance and commitment.

For the past decade or more, a bevy of very powerful people have savaged our nation's public schools while calling themselves "reformers." It is perfectly clear that they have no desire to "reform" our public schools but to privatize and monetize them.

Are job protections for teachers to blame for educational underachievement among low-income students of color in California? That's the provocative question ostensibly at the heart of Vergara vs. California.